Michael and Michael Have Issues

'Michael and Michael Have Issues,' the behind the scenes sketch comedy fest from 'State' alumni Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter was one of the funniest "no surprise" shows in Comedy Central's line-up in a long time.

Showalter sent out the awful truth in Twitter form yesterday. Black also followed up Showalter's sad announcement with his own Tweet that contains a certain word that starts with "F" and ends with "K" and it isn't "fullback."

I was a fan and I looked forward to the second season, but now I'll just have to settle with the inevitable buck squeezing DVD release. You guys had me at "bunny stomping."

This new doc series premieres tonight, with an introduction to most of the major players in the snowy soap. Cameras follow a group of kids - in their early 20s, as is the case up in Whistler - who work the slopes and bars in Whistler as they get together and break up. It's like 'The Hills' on ice.

Last night was the season finale of Michael & Michael Have Issues on Comedy Central. Which means fans of the show can look forward either to its second season or its quiet death. With rare exceptions (like Important Things with Demetri Martin), shows come and go on Comedy Central with little fanfare. Mind of Mencia and Lewis Black's Root of All Evil weren't renewed, but their cancellations were never really announced, just mentioned by the players on the shows themselves.

So here's your chance to weigh in. Did you like MMHI? Were you one of the fans who attended the "blarties" and "twarties" (blog parties and twitter parties)? Did you pick up The State on DVD and watch for nostalgia? What did you think of the sketch show within a show format?

This week on TV: First shift ends for 'Nurse Jackie,' a 'Royal Pain' of a love triangle and Vince calls in the security big dogs on 'Entourage'

MONDAY, AUGUST 24'Nurse Jackie' (10:30PM, Showtime) 1st season finaleThe good news, of course, is that the series, one of Showtime's most successful premieres ever, will be back for a second season. But sadly, we have to bid a temporary adieu to Jackie (Edie Falco) and her shenanigans, as she ends the season in trademark chaos. While she tries to juggle her schedule to meet Kevin for a little romance and be there for O'Hara when her mother arrives, there's also a problem with Eddie, who gets drunk – at Kevin's bar! – and comes to the hospital to throw a hissy fit.

If you're a fan of Michael and Michael Have Issues, you may want to have your Twittering device handy watching tonight's episode. Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter will both be doing a "pre-Tweet Town Hall" at 9:30 PM ET, and then continuing through the show, which airs at 10:30 PM ET, looking for questions from the audience and commentary on the show. Officially, they're calling it their Town Hall Twitter Twarty, or "twarty," short for "Twitter Party."

The plan is for the audience input to be featured along with commentary from the Michaels themselves and from writers Jessi Klein and Kumail Nanjiani, The Real Jim Biederman, and writer's assistant Stephie Grob, on the show's blog, www.michaelandmichaelhaveissues.com. The Michaels will post their favorite stuff on ComedyCentral.com during the week. Tweets can be sent to @mshowalter or @michaelianblack.

When Michael and Michael Have Issues premieres tonight at 10:30 PM on Comedy Central, it'll be a return to sketch comedy of sorts for Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter. The pair started out with The State on MTV, as this week's boxed set release reminded us. Their most recent TV project, Stella, the show, with former State member David Wain, wasn't really sketch as much as it was an exercise in absurdist slapstick.

Comedy Central has been showing episodes from the single season the show lasted in the run up to Michael and Michael Have Issues, and it has been a pleasant reminder of Stella's brief experiment with a half-hour TV comedy. It's hard to imagine keeping that premise going - Wain, Black, and Showalter free associating with different guest stars season after season. But it's been fun to watch it again.

You've got questions, I've got answers -- I'm The Show Girl! This week, I chat with 'Hawthorne' star Jada Pinkett Smith about hubby Will playing Mr. Mom, and his early music catalog.

Then I catch up with 'Entourage' star Rex Lee (Lloyd!) who admits that President Obama isn't the only friend of the show in high places ... an A-list celeb couple might even be stalking him. Plus, I give a little sneak peek of Comedy Central's new show, 'Michael & Michael Have Issues,' starring two of my favorite celebrity Tweeters, Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter.

To get your questions answered on The Show Girl, just email me at TheTVShowGirl@aol.com. And if you want more, follow me on Twitter @TheTVShowGirl and subscribe to The Show Girl video podcast on iTunes. Now watch, enjoy and come back next week for more. Until then, happy TV watching! -- By Maggie Furlong

If you're a fan of Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black and you've been looking for information on their new Comedy Central show, Michael and Michael Have Issues, you've probably been a bit confused lately. Any press the pair have done for the show has been fairly vague.

And then you have the site dedicated to the show, www.michaelandmichaelhaveissues.com, which offers plenty of blog entries, including one from earlier this month titled "Photos of the Promos Shoot" that feature dancers holding up Michael and Michael heads on a stick (see photo).

Maybe this clip will help give a better clue. Poorly veiled tension has always been a part of the act with Stella (which also includes David Wain). But here we get to see Michael and Michael actually attack each other in a studio when Showalter takes issue with Black's impression of a butterfly fart. This is supposed to be from the series pilot, which premieres in July, but who knows? Maybe it's here to distract you from what they're really working on. (Oooohh! Conspiracy!)

Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black (who made up the cast of Stella along with David Wain) are returning to Comedy Central with their new series Michael and Michael Have Issues.

The premise is somewhat similar to that of 30 Rock in which the two friends have a sketch-show-within-a-show. The comedy style of the duo has been somewhat hit-or-miss for me. I enjoyed Stella but didn't think that much of their stand-up comedy when I saw them perform live. Their scripted work (such as the movies Wet Hot American Summer and The Baxter) remains their strong suit so I have high hopes for this series.

I do wonder if the characters are going to have the same names as the actors. Showalter and Black seem to have no problem with blurring the lines between fantasy and reality for the sake of television. Hopefully this show will last longer than Stella's single season.

The premise is a show-within-a-show, with segments from the stars addressing issues that the Michaels have with "themselves, each other and the world at large."

I missed The State, but I did catch episodes of Stella (also starring David Wain), which was another attempt by the same comedians to create a show that blurred the line between reality and fantasy (such as having character with their actual names. You know, the old Jerry Seinfeld trick).

I liked Stella, but didn't think it would last more than a season (and it didn't) because the humor is very abstract and cerebral (sort of the anti-According To Jim). My gut instinct is the same for this show even though I want it to succeed. Is it better to have a good show that lasts one season or a mediocre-at-best show that lasts eight? I vote for the former.